After a recent announcment that Sony Animation had optioned the rights to Chuck Sambuchino‘s book How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack: Defend Yourself When the Lawn Warriors Strike (And They Will), the obvious question became: How exactly does the studio and producer Robert Zemeckis plan to adapt the survival guide parody?

Luckily, we have the author here to offer his take on the situation, and to shed some light on what else the film has in store for us. Read what he had to say after the break.

In an interview with MTV, author Chuck Sambuchino explained how the film, a mixture of live action and CGI, would bring to life the step-by-step manual about how to safeguard your home and protect your loved ones in the likely case of a garden gnome invasion.

I expect the movie will be the tale of a couple (or perhaps even a small town) that comes under the wrath of vicious lawn gnomes. They will have to discern gnomes’ weakness(es) — then fight back! I think it will make a good movie because it can combine horror elements with plenty of comedy.

This is merely a speculative take on the direction the film is headed, since the script has yet to be written. When asked if Sambuchino would be handling screenwriting duties, he said he felt he was too close to the material and that the studio was “contacting some great screenwriters” to get the job done.

He added,

For a while now, people have said, “This could be like ‘Gremlins’ — kind of a horror-comedy combo.” That could be a fair comparison if Zemeckis and ImageMovers take a PG-13 route and try to make it funny — but I think it’s too early to understand exactly where it’s going because prospective screenwriters will all have different takes on the project.

Wait, PG-13? That would be disappointing, as it was initially reported that the film was angling for an R-rating.

Last I heard from my agents, it would be PG-13. This is not finalized, so if some writer comes along with a dynamite take that lends itself to an R-rated film, who knows what will happen.

An R-rated horror-comedy about murderous garden gnomes seemed like a long shot to begin with, but dammit, I wanted to keep the dream alive. While it’s a nice thought that the script could dictate the rating of the film, it’s far more probable that the studio will be keeping a leash on their project. From a business standpoint, a PG-13 is a lot safer, so that’s likely what we’ll end up with.

Those are just some of the interview highlights, so be sure to check out MTV for the full interview.